Theses and Dissertations
Date of Award
2005
Document Type
Dissertation - NSU Access Only
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Department
Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice
Advisor
John W. Evans
Committee Member
Carole Trueman
Committee Member
Maryellen Maher
Keywords
Teacher Education Programs/Alternative Teacher Certification/ Internship Programs/Nontraditional Education/Preservice Teacher Education
Abstract
The purpose of the applied dissertation was to determine whether alternatively certified teachers have a negative effect on student achievement. With increasing numbers of experienced, traditionally certified teachers retiring from teaching, more new teachers are needed in today's classrooms. The researcher attempted to answer the questions of whether alternatively certified teachers produce lower achieving students than traditionally prepared and certified teachers.
The writer collected results for students in Grades 9-11 on the English, math, science, and social studies Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills tests and compared those data for traditionally and alternatively certified teachers, using control factors of teacher experience and education. Student demographic data (ethnicity and socioeconomic status) were also included in the analysis.
An analysis of the data revealed that test scores of students whose teachers had only the minimum bachelor's degree were lower for alternatively certified teachers in both English and mathematics that reflected both statistical and effect size significance. However, it was not possible in this study to control for differences in the class size and composition of the students of the traditionally and alternatively certified teachers. Had this been possible, the achievement differences between the two groups might have been further reduced. Thus, the overall conclusion of this study is that the perception regarding the superiority of traditionally certified teachers should be viewed with some caution.
This study determined that, when the education and experience of traditionally and alternatively certified teachers are controlled, there are, indeed, both statistically and educationally significant differences in their students' English and mathematics scores that favor the traditionally certified teachers. However, additional research is needed to determine if this advantage is sustained when class size and student differences have also been controlled.
NSUWorks Citation
Christine Steen. 2005. Alternatively Certified Teachers in the Classroom: Solution or Problem?. Doctoral dissertation. Nova Southeastern University. Retrieved from NSUWorks, Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice. (899)
https://nsuworks.nova.edu/fse_etd/899.